This application claims priority from Great Britain application 00.29883.6, filed Jul. 12, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to feeding bottles, for example feeding bottles for feeding babies and infants.
A range of feeding bottles are known, comprising a bottle body and a teat or nipple assembly, upon which a baby sucks to draw liquid (such as formula milk) stored in the bottle body out of the bottle body through the nipple.
A problem with conventional bottles is that as the baby sucks and liquid is drawn out of the bottle, a partial vacuum develops in the bottle body. It is believed that this can give rise to colic in babies. One hypothesis is that owing to the vacuum, when the bottle is in use air breathed in through the nose of the baby is drawn into the bottle through the nipple assembly, mixing as it does so with the liquid therein. Also, during feeding breaks, air is drawn into the bottle through the nipple assembly, leading to aeration of the liquid, particularly when the bottle is still partially inclined. The aerated liquid is then ingested by the baby causing colic. This can also give the baby wind with associated pain and stomach distension, and may lead to posseting.
Furthermore, the baby has to suck progressively harder to overcome the vacuum, and this can be off-putting and prematurely stop the baby feeding. Unwell, or weak babies may not be able to suck with sufficient force to overcome some vacuum strengths. Further still, the sucking action and the vacuum formed in the bottle body can lead to the baby experiencing ear-ache, or even developing an ear infection. Yet another problem is that a build up of the vacuum in the bottle can lead to nipple collapse.
In International Patent Application No. WO 99/11218 it is proposed to overcome some of these problems by the provision of a bottle vented by means of a perforated elastomeric diaphragm or xe2x80x9cvent discxe2x80x9d attached to an open base of the bottle. When the bottle is inverted to feed the baby, air flows through a plurality of valves in the diaphragm to alleviate the vacuum in the bottle. When the bottle is upright, pressure equalises through the teat so that the valves are sealed.
However, inverting the bottle is not effective to open all the valves for all liquid levels, and so only partial vacuum alleviation is achieved. The plurality of valves are easily blocked, being necessarily of a small size and fragile in construction. The diaphragm is difficult to clean, particularly because the valves can be easily damaged. The complexity of the diaphragm means it is relatively costly and difficult to manufacture.
Another known solution is to use a disposable liner into which the liquid is placed, the liner being provided inside a conventional rigid bottle. The liner gradually collapses as liquid is drawn out. However, air is still drawn into the liner through the liquid aperture since sucking and reduction in liquid inside the liner leads to a vacuum forming in the liner. A mechanism to alleviate the vacuum is described in International Patent Application No. WO 98/38963 but requires a complex push-rod construction that is difficult to operate and inefficient. The liners are also not reusable, and thus the bottle is costly both to manufacture and use on a regular basis.
In addition known systems for filling and sealing bottles are known from, for example, International Patent Application No. WO 00/54818 (PCT/GB00/00928). However yet further improvements are envisaged to such arrangements.
Various other problems arise with known feeding bottles. Feeding bottles are conventionally heated to a desired temperature largely by trial and error, for example by the mother testing the temperature of the feed on her wrist. Various systems do not address the problem of taking a direct, accurate reading of the temperature of the feed. In addition in known systems there may xe2x80x9covershootxe2x80x9d in that the desired temperature may be exceeded such that the mother has to wait for the feed to cool down again as a result of the failure of take accurate readings of the feed temperature.
According to the present invention there is provided a feeding bottle comprising a bottle body including an open end for mounting a teat assembly, and an air inlet; and a stopper assembly, the stopper assembly being mounted to the bottle body and including a stopper manually moveable between a closed position in which the air inlet is closed by the stopper, and an open position in which the air inlet is open.
The feeding bottle of the present invention offers several advantages. When the bottle is not being used for feeding, the stopper can be moved to the closed position to prevent leakage of liquid from within the bottle body. When feeding, the stopper can be moved to the open position so that air can pass into the bottle body to alleviate, or control, any vacuum formed therein by the baby""s sucking and subsequent liquid withdrawal. Liquid flow during feeding is improved. Also, because the vacuum is alleviated, less air is drawn into the bottle body through the teat assembly to mix with the liquid in the bottle body, and therefore the baby ingests less air. The bottle thus leads to a reduction in colic, ear-ache and/or infection, possetting, the need for babies to suck increasingly hard during feeding, and nipple collapse.
The bottle is of a simple construction that is reusable, simple to manufacture and easy to clean. Provision of an air inlet, rather than a plurality of perforations provided in a diaphragm, for example, means that the bottle of the present invention does not include a pressure-alleviation means that is prone to becoming ineffective due to clogging.
Preferably, the stopper is biased to the closed position. This means that the xe2x80x9cdefault modexe2x80x9d for the bottle is that it does not leak.
Preferably, the bottle body includes a base end and the air inlet is provided at or near the base end. This has the advantage that when the bottle is in a feeding position and the stopper is moved to the open position, air is received into the bottle body to an area of the bottle body not occupied by liquid and there is no leakage.
Preferably, the stopper assembly includes a pivot arm bearing the stopper, the pivot arm being actuable to move the stopper between the open and closed positions. When the bottle is held in one hand in use, the pivot arm is preferably operable by one finger of the hand. It is therefore easy for the person using the bottle to feed a baby, to open or close the aperture as desired. The pivot arm further provides a mechanical advantage, together with the small stroke required by the stopper, allowing a strong biasing force to be applied to close the air inlet. Preferably this is done by placing the pivot arm near the stopper assembly such that gentle pressure is sufficient to overcome the strong sealing force.
Preferably, the stopper assembly is releasably attachable to the bottle body. This means that the bottle body and stopper assembly can be separated for ease of cleaning. The stopper assembly is preferably a slide and snap fit to the bottle body.
The stopper assembly may be pivotal to move the stopper between the closed and open positions, providing a bottle that is simple to use and manufacture.
Preferably, the bottle body includes a recess adapted to receive the stopper assembly. The bottle therefore retains its ergonomic appeal, since the stopper means can be located substantially flush with the bottle walls. The recess may be radiused to facilitate attachment of the stopper assembly to the bottle body. The bottle body may comprise a base end and side wall, the recess extending from the base end along a portion of the side wall. When the bottle is in use, this enables air to enter part of the bottle body not occupied by liquid.
The stopper assembly may further include a stopper retainer moveable between a first position in which the stopper retainer retains the stopper in the open position or a position permitting movement of the stopper between the open and closed positions; and a second position in which the stopper retainer retains the stopper in the closed position. The stopper retainer may in one embodiment enable the person using the bottle to feed a baby to lock the stopper into the open position when feeding; or optionally to lock the stopper into the closed position when the bottle is not in use to prevent leakage. The stopper retainer may comprise a slider. The slider may engage the pivot arm to respective sides of the pivot in each position.
Preferably the aperture is radiused to prevent the stopper jamming inside the aperture when the stopper assembly is slid off the bottle body.
Preferably, the stopper assembly includes an aperture alignable with the air inlet. Advantageously, it is therefore possible to insert a temperature sensing means into a bottle body contents without removing the bottle""s nipple assembly, or completely removing the stopper assembly.
According to the present invention there is further provided a feeding vessel comprising a vessel body including an open end for mounting a mouthpiece assembly, and an air inlet; and a stopper assembly, the stopper assembly being mounted to the vessel body and including a stopper manually moveable between a closed position in which the air inlet is closed by the stopper, and an open position in which the air inlet is open.
The present invention further extends to a stopper assembly of the type herein described for the feeding bottle or vessel, the stopper assembly comprising a pivot arm bearing a stopper and biasing means for biasing the stopper to a closed position.
Additionally, the present invention extends to a feeding bottle stand adapted to support a feeding bottle when not in use so that the feeding bottle is inclined and points downwardly with respect to the horizontal.
The stand offers several advantages. For instance, the stand eliminates the need to place a bottle in a vertical position when not in use. Such a movement to a vertical position can aerate the liquid in the bottle body (leading to problems such as colic when the aerated liquid is ingested by the baby). When breast milk is used (which includes a negligable air content) the amount of air forced into the milk by bottle feeding methods can be kept to an absolute minimum.
Preferably, the stand is adapted to support the bottle as described above. Preferably, the stand supports the bottle such that the stopper assembly is provided on an uppermost surface of the supported bottle. Again, this minimises aeration of liquid in the bottle body since the bottle can be moved from the feeding position, to the stand in which it is supported at the same inclination without disturbing the liquid.
The stand may include heating means arranged to heat a bottle body content. This is useful to keep the contents warm or to heat it to a temperature suitable for use. It has been proposed that use of warm milk, rather than cold milk, can further reduce colic.
According to the invention there is further provided a mouthpiece assembly for a feeding and/or drinking vessel comprising a retaining ring, a mouthpiece and a mouthpiece plug, in which the mouthpiece is retainable by the retaining ring in each of a first, feeding position and a second, reversed, sealing position, the mouthpiece plug being sealable against the mouthpiece by the retaining ring in the second position.
The mouthpiece may comprise for example a teat for a feeding bottle, a spout of the type found in infant trainer cups.
As a result a simple and easy to use system is provided allowing a fully sterile bottle to be prepared. In particular the bottle can be filled to the brim with boiling water and the teat assembly screwed down onto it leaving a fully inert, sealed bottle.
According to the invention there is yet further provided a feeding bottle comprising a bottle body including an open end for mounting a teat assembly and a liner, the liner and bottle body having cooperating air inlet formations, the bottle further comprising a stopper assembly mounted to the bottle body and including a stopper manually movable between a closed position in which the liner air inlet formation is closed by the stopper and an open position in which the liner air inlet formation is open.
Because the liner can be pre-sterilised there is no need to sterilise the remainder of the bottle body. In addition the stopper assembly can provide evidence of tampering with the liner.
According to the invention there is further provided a feeding bottle filling station for a feeding bottle comprising a bottle body and a teat assembly, the station comprising at least one location for a bottle body and a teat assembly holding element laterally movable between a position suspended above the bottle body and a laterally spaced position and vertically movable between the suspended position and a bottle body engaging position. As a result a simple and efficient means of filling the feeding bottles is provided. This can be combined with a sealable system of the type discussed above to allow quick and if appropriate batch preparation of sterile, filled bottles.
Other optional features are set out in the dependent claims appended hereto.